Wild camping is something you will almost certainly do as a bicycle tourist if you spend any amount of time travelling by bike. Even on shorter trips through populated areas, where you think you will always be near a campsite or hotel, you may find that weather, fatigue or a chance encounter with an interesting person or attraction means you don’t reach your expected destination.
Camping out in the woods will also help you travel on a budget, although the extent to which this is true will of course depend on the country. In Portugal, for example, we found campgrounds to be very affordable and France also has plenty of cheap municipally run campsites. This was much less true in Canada and Spain, where camping could sometimes be almost as expensive as a cheap hotel.
It is good to know the rules of various countries in relation to wild camping (also known as free camping or stealth camping) but at the end of the day, even if it is illegal, you are very unlikely to be bothered by anyone as long as you follow some basic guidelines:
- Find a spot away from houses and hidden from any roads. You want to be out of sight of passersby. Look on your map for areas marked as woodland, which often offer good camping potential. You may also find that small hills by the side of the road can give you cover if you just haul your bike up to the peak and over the other side.
- Don’t camp in dry riverbeds as they can come to life overnight with a little rain. The rain may fall several kilometers away from you but a stream still ends up flooding through your tent! Equally, camping spots near water like a lake or riverbank can be cooler at night than more inland areas.
- Don’t start a fire or do anything else that might attract attention, like playing loud music.
- Leave early the next morning and take all your garbage with you.
Generally you will be left alone while wild camping but be prepared for inquisitive visitors, especially in countries like Morocco and Asia. In India, numerous cyclists report waking up to find dozens of people outside their tent or even inquisitive farmers unzipping the tent door to find out who is inside!
If you are stuck trying to find a place to camp, it is always worth asking local people if they know where you could put your tent. Most people are friendly and obliging and you may even get an offer to camp in their back garden or stay the night in their home. If you can plan in advance, you may also want to take a look at Warm Showers and its offers of hospitality for cyclists.
Some people have trouble getting used to the idea of wild camping. This was certainly true for Friedel, who hardly slept at all when we first started putting our tent up in the woods. As another cycle tourist said, she could hear an ant fart in the night. If you are like this, just give it time. Start out slowly and build up your confidence. It is worth persisting with, both for the practical sides of wild camping and the beautiful spots you can find.
If you would like to read more about wild camping, try looking at these excellent thoughts by other cycle tourists: